impact at work toolkit · 2020-01-01 · impact at work toolkit to kick off a social or...

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Impact at Work ToolkitINSIDE:

Welcome to your toolkit 2

Define your project 3

Engage stakeholders 4

Deliver results 5

Team impact 6

Appendix: Worksheets 7

Share your story 15

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Welcome to your toolkitLooking to make positive change through your job? Use the

Impact at Work Toolkit to kick off a social or environmental

project at work, and discover how you can make a net impact.

Who should use the toolkit?

Technically, anyone!

• Junior level employees looking to gain project management and leadership skills

• Mid-senior level employees seeking tools to help lead project teams

• Non-CSR professionals who want to initiate projects that make a positive environmental

or social impact at work

What can you do with the toolkit?

The toolkit is designed to be extremely flexible. With the tookit, you can:

• Start a conversation within your organization about the benefits of impact initiatives

• Provide focus and direction for an existing Green Team

• Identify and develop environmental projects and initiatives

• Identify and develop social impact projects and initiatives

• Build community among coworkers and departments

• Support your organization’s mission and business goals through impact opportunities

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1. Defi ne your projectEvery project has to start somewhere. But diving in head-first isn’t

necessarily the most effective way to make change that truly lasts;

taking the time to map out the direction of your project can make

all the difference.

Identify potential projects. Start by brainstorming a list of ideas. Get creative: what problems

have you encountered that need solving? Do you have any particular areas of interest that you’re

passionate about? Does your organization have any specific strengths it can leverage? Use the themes

from WORKSHEET 1 to help spur ideas. Catalog and sort these ideas using WORKSHEET 2.

Evaluate the benefits and challenges. To help narrow down your list of potential projects, use

WORKSHEET 3 to assess the benefits, challenges, level of difficulty, and potential for impact of each

idea. Getting these elements onto the page will help you prioritize your list and identify the projects

with the most potential to succeed.

Select and define a direction to pursue. Once you’ve narrowed down your ideas, it should become

clear to you which project idea makes the most sense given your interests and resources. Use

WORKSHEET 4 to expand on your idea. Completing this worksheet will help you strengthen the idea,

and ensure it’s viability in the workplace.

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2. Engage stakeholdersTo make lasting change, you can’t go it alone. Identifying and

engaging your stakeholders early on in the process will help

secure commitment and buy-in.

Build a team. Identify a core leadership team to take charge and help enage others throughout the

organization. Choosing a diverse group will allow you to tap into a range of talent and ideas. Take a

look at other teams or departments in your organization - what traits do other successful teams have

that you could replicate? Finally, assign roles using WORKSHEET 4.

Map the stakeholders involved. Use WORKSHEET 5 to think about who will be affected by your

project, as well as those who might have influence on its success or failure. Gaining the support of key

stakeholders will help build credibility for your team, and potentially speed up progress.

Communicate your message. Trying to get people on board can sometimes be challenging, so think

carefully about different ways to engage, entice, and educate your audience. What about your project

will your stakeholders care about? If you’re asking them to adopt new behaviors or give up old ones,

what might make them more likely to accept these changes? It’s important to think about this from

their point of view, because the imperative to change may not be as clear to them as it is to you.

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3. Deliver ResultsOnce you’ve kicked off your project and gotten your team on

board, it’s time to make sure it sticks around. Understanding how

your efforts are paying off in the real world can help keep a project

moving forward, and even help it grow.

Define your project and create a plan. Setting clear objectives and then breaking the project down

into realistic milestones keeps big projects managable and lofty goals on track. Use WORKSHEETS 6

and 7 to ground your project in actionable phases and next steps.

Chart your progress. It helps to gather as much data as possible to validate and track your efforts,

particularly if you’ll need to report progress to senior leadership. But consistent data can also tell you

if you’re on the right track, or if you need reassess your approach. Use WORKSHEET 8 to decide what

metrics will be most valuable to your team — and the organization at large — for tracking progress,

and then start recording.

Share your results. Not only will you want to conduct regular check-ins with your team to stay on

track, it’s critical to celebrate your project’s milestones - big and small. Share your experience (both

successes and lessons learned) with the rest of your organization to build momentum and encourage

others to get involved. And don’t forget to share your learnings with the Net Impact network by

submitting the online story form at: netimpact.org/mystory

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Team ImpactYou can use the Impact at Work Toolkit on your own to kick-start

a project, or you can expand your impact by bringing together a

small (or large!) group of colleagues.

In advance. Start by reaching out to colleagues any way you can — send out emails, hang up flyers, or

just talk to folks by the water cooler. Consider this: even if you get just one other person interested,

that’s twice as many as you started with (really; you have to start somewhere). Set a date to kick off

the planning process, and send out WORKSHEET 1 in advance to get the ideas flowing.

Meeting 1. Use this time to get to know the reasons participants are interested in making an impact at

work. Dig into WORKSHEETS 1 and 2 (breaking into smaller groups if you’ve got a crowd). Discuss the

results within the larger group, selecting the top 3-4 projects to explore. Move onto to WORKSHEET 3,

continuing group discussion until you’ve narrowed in on the first project you’ll tackle. Finally, before

you break, assign roles using WORKSHEET 4. Homework: Individuals or breakout groups should work on

WORKSHEET 5 before the next meeting.

Meeting 2. Okay, so it’s been a week (but not much longer; you don’t want to lose momentum). Kick

off this meeting by sharing the results of your group’s homework, and completing a final version of

WORKSHEET 5. Then define your project and create an action plan using WORKSHEETS 6 and 7. Now

you’re really cooking! With all that energy, do a group brainstorm using WORKSHEET 8 to identify the

right metrics for success. This could even be spun off into a third meeting. From here, it’s time to put

your plan into place, launch your project, and track your progress!

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Worksheet 1Themes

THEME BENEFITSPROJECT(S) WHERE TO STARTCHALLENGES

WASTE REDUCTION

DIFFICULTY LEVEL

ENERGY

COMMUNITY

ENGAGEMENT

SUSTAINABLE

PURCHASING

TRANSPORTATION

• Recycling

• Compost

• Water bottles

• Paper usage

• Highly visible

• Quantifiable

• High existing awareness

• Low up-front investment

• Reduced costs

• Incentivizing behavior change

• Working with facilities management

• Establishing benchmarks & monitoring progress

• Low (e.g. increasing existing recycling levels) to high (e.g. establishing a new recycling program)

• Contact facilities manager to discuss options

• Conduct waste audit

• Identify materials w/ re-use/reduction/recycling potential

• Host waste awareness event

• Energy conservation

• Renewable energy use

• Sustainable computing

• Green buildings

• Quantifiable

• Cost effective

• Direct relationships to carbon emissions

• Incentivizing behavior change

• Working with facilities management

• Creating tracking methods

• May require substantial investment

• Low (e.g. encouraging employees to turn off lights) to High (e.g. energy efficiency retrofitting for buildings)

• Contact facilities manager to discuss options

• Conduct energy audit

• Research industry benchmarks

• Host awareness event

• Employee volunteerism

• Dollars for Doers program

• Nonprofit pro bono partnership

• Team building

• Skills development

• Positive PR value

• Improved relationships with local community

• Increased staff engagement

• Fitting events into work schedules

• Securing time off for employee participation

• Connecting employee skills to community needs

• Medium to High (depending on size of program)

• Work with HR manager to gauge employee interest

• Survey staff on interest areas

• Conduct nonprofit outreach

• Host meeting to recruit volunteers

• Environmentally/socially preferable procurement policies

• May reduce costs through more efficient purchases

• Positive PR value

• Stronger vendor relationships

• Stay ahead of compliance regulations

• May increase costs (perceived or real) on some purchases

• Long-term ROI may require patience/vision

• Potential vendor resistance

• Medium to High (depending on breadth of policy implemented)

• Contact purchasing dept. to discuss current policies

• Draft list of issue priorities

• Compile sustainable vendors & pricing options

• Draft proposal for pilot policies

• Carpooling programs

• Incentive programs

• Alternative transport options

• Flexible workspaces

• Bike parking

• Telecommuting

• Reduced commuting costs

• Reduced overhead (fortelecommuting/flex schedules)

• Shorter commutes may increase productivity

• Dispersed populations

• Culture change in organization

• Availability of alternative options

• Low (e.g. carpooling) to High (e.g. telecommuting)

• Contact HR dept. to discuss current policies

• Survey staff on commuting habits• Calculate costs/carbon

outputs for current habits• Draft pilot project outlining

carbon/cost savings

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Worksheet 2Identify Potential Projects

Emotional Approach What unsustainable activities bother you in the workplace?

Rational Approach What sustainable activities might benefit your organization?

WASTE REDUCTION COMMUNITYENERGY EMPLOYEE GIVINGSUSTAINABLE PURCHASING

EXAMPLES: RECYCLING,

COMPOSTING, PAPER USE,

ELECTRONICS DISPOSAL

EXAMPLES: ENERGY

CONSERVATION, SUSTAINABLE

COOMPUTING, COMMUTING

EXAMPLES: EMPLOYEE

VOLUNTEERISM, NONPROFIT

PRO BONO CONSULTING

EXAMPLES: ENVIRONMENTAL

PROCUREMENT, SUPPLY CHAIN

STANDARDS

EXAMPLES: UNITED WAY,

EMPLOYER MATCHING

PROGRAMS

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Worksheet 3Project Evaluation

Use this worksheet to identify the project most worth pursuing, based on the benefits and

challenges of each project idea.

PROJECT IDEA: 2.1. 4.3.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS/IMPACTS

LIKELY CHALLENGES

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY

TO IMPLEMENT

(HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW)

IMPACT POTENTIAL

(HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW)

Most attractive project idea:

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ROLE DEFINITION ASSIGNED TO

M MANAGER

O OWNER

C CONSULTANTS

H HELPERS

Worksheet 4Project Roles

In projects where a number of people are involved, it’s key to be specific when outlining who is

contributing what. Use this MOCHA framework (from The Management Center) to help organize who

will do what to make your project a success.

A APPROVER

ASSIGNS RESPONSIBILITY AND HOLDS OWNER ACCOUNTABLE. MAKES

SUGGESTIONS, ASKS HARD QUESTIONS, REVIEWS PROGRESS, SERVES AS A

RESOURCE, AND INTERVENES IF THINGS ARE OFF TRACK.

HAS OVERALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF THE

PROJECT. ENSURES THAT ALL OF THE WORK GETS DONE (DIRECTLY OR VIA

HELPERS) AND THAT OTHERS ARE INVOLVED APPROPRIATELY.

SHOULD BE ASKED FOR INPUT AND/OR NEEDS TO BE BOUGHT IN. ALSO

KNOWN AS SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS (SME).

AVAILABLE TO HELP OR DO PART OF THE WORK.

SIGNS OFF ON DECISIONS BEFORE THEY ARE FINAL.

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Worksheet 5Stakeholder Mapping

List All Stakeholders Include anyone who is likely to be impacted by your project, or who otherwise

might have an interest in its success or failure.

STRONGLY AGAINST NEUTRALAGAINST STRONGLY SUPPORTIVESUPPORTIVE

Identify a Sponsor Is there anyone in senior leadership who might be interested in “sponsoring”

your project? Gaining the commitment of key leaders can help add momentum.

Map Stakeholders Identify where stakeholders listed above are likely to fall on the chart below.

Solve for Resistance What can you do to help stakeholders be more supportive of this project?

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Worksheet 6Define Your Project

Project Name Which project did you choose?

Project Description A brief description used to describe the project to potential participants. It

should communicate the overall scope and goal(s) of the project clearly.

Business Objectives What metrics could be used to make the case to your organization’s leadership to gain

their support of your project? Describe the specific benefits to the organization of

implementing this project (e.g. cost savings, increased employee engagement, etc.).

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Worksheet 7Action Plan

Target Impact How will you measure the success of this project?

Long-term Steps What milestones need to be reached to complete this project?

Next Steps What needs to get done in the near-term to get this project implemented?

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Worksheet 8Metrics Tracking

We’ve all heard the adage: “what gets measured gets managed.” Identifying which metrics you’ll

use to measure progress before you start can help you measure your impact, inform your decision-

making as you go, and build buy-in from colleagues for whom quantitative measures are important.

There are many ways to track metrics (including spreadsheets and custom software), but you can

start with this basic worksheet as a template.

METRIC CURRENT BASELINE

BY WHAT UNITS WILL YOU MEASURE PROJECT PROGRESS?

EXAMPLE: # OF REAMS OF PAPER USED MONTHLY

TRACK UNITS OVER THE COURSE A SET PERIOD OF TIME

EXAMPLE: 100 REAMS OF PAPER USED PER MONTH

WHAT SHOULD THE NEW BASELINE BE?

EXAMPLE: 50 REAMS OF PAPER USED PER MONTH

POST-PROJECT GOAL

Share your impact!

How are you using the Impact at Work Toolkit to make a difference in your organization? Let us know

by contributing your experiences: netimpact.org/mystory

impact at work toolkit · 2020-01-01 · impact at work toolkit to kick off a social or...

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